William Slater (born 18 June 1983) is an Australian professional rugby league coach and former player who played in the 2000s and 2010s. Widely regarded as the greatest fullback of all time, Slater was known for his incredible vision, game reading, and try-scoring feats.
An Australian international and one-time captain of the Queensland State of Origin team, he played his entire club career in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the Melbourne Storm, with whom he played in seven NRL Grand Finals. Slater also set the club's record for most ever tries and NRL record for most ever tries by a fullback.
Slater amassed 190 NRL tries for the Melbourne Storm, which is the fourth most in Australian first-grade rugby league history. Slater also won two premierships, the Clive Churchill Medal twice and the Dally M Medal with the Storm. With the Kangaroos he was the 2008 World Cup's top try-scorer and player of the tournament and won the 2008 Golden Boot Award as the World player of the year. Slater was also the winner of the television game show Australia's Greatest Athlete in 2009 and 2010.
Slater coached Queensland in the State of Origin series between 2022 and 2026, winning the series in 2022, 2023, and 2025.
Background Slater was born in Nambour, Queensland, Australia in 1983. He began playing rugby league football for the Brothers club in Innisfail, Queensland. A North Queensland Cowboys fan growing up, he never made a representative side with the club. At sixteen years of age, Slater left school at Innisfail State High School and decided to follow his personal passion for thoroughbred racing, working initially in Sydney for 6 months as a roustabout for racehorse trainer Gai Waterhouse.
Playing career 2003 Slater started playing for the Melbourne Storm in 2003. In Round 1 of the 2003 NRL season, Slater made his first-grade NRL debut for the Melbourne Storm against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Remondis Stadium. Slater started on the and scored a try in Melbourne's 36–32 win after overcoming a 22–0 deficit early in the first half. In Slater's next match in Round 2 against the Penrith Panthers, Slater played his first match for the Storm at , scoring 2 tries in the Storm's 42–16 win at Olympic Park. From Rounds 4–8, Slater played in the centre position before moving back to fullback in Round 10 against the Brisbane Broncos in the Storms 36–16 loss at Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre. Slater played the rest of the year at fullback. After a stellar début season saw him crowned Dally M Rookie of the Year (although the awards that year were cancelled in protest), Slater was the Storm's highest try scorer in the 2003 NRL season with 19 tries in their 26 matches.
2004 Slater made his debut on the for Queensland in game one of the 2004 State of Origin series. Slater had a quiet but solid first game in QLD's 9–8 loss at ANZ Stadium. Slater retained his spot on the team for the second game of the series at Suncorp Stadium. In game two, just days shy of his 21st birthday, Slater was named man of the match after scoring two tries. His second try is considered one of the great individual Origin tries. Trailing 12–10, Slater latched onto a grubber kick from Darren Lockyer, chip-kicked the ball over Blues fullback Anthony Minichiello, regathering the ball and scoring in QLD's 22–18 win. Slater scored a try in the decider but could not stop a Brad Fittler inspired New South Wales side from clinching the series in QLD's 36–14 loss. Slater's club form helped his team finish 6th on the ladder, defeating the Brisbane Broncos 31–14 at Suncorp Stadium in the first game of the finals before succumbing to eventual premiers the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 43–18 at SFS. Slater played 22 matches and scored 14 tries for the Storm in the 2004 NRL season. He was named in the Kangaroo squad to tour Europe but injury prevented him from joining in the tour.
2005 Slater once again impressed in his third NRL season. Once again he was picked for the Queensland State of Origin team, this time at his preferred position of fullback. Slater returned for the second game in Sydney which saw the return of Andrew Johns, who spearheaded a New South Wales victory. Despite losing the match 32–22, Slater took advantage of a knock-on from the Blues Anthony Minichiello to score a length of the field try during the match. Slater was dumped from the Queensland side for the deciding third game in Brisbane which led to outrage from some Maroons fans. With injuries and suspensions, Slater had to wait three years for another chance at State of Origin. Slater continued his brilliant form throughout 2005, topping the try scoring charts with 20 tries in 21 matches for the Storm. Melbourne once again finished 6th in the league and defeated the Brisbane Broncos 24–18 at Suncorp Stadium in the first game of the finals before missing the Storms 24–16 season ending loss succumbing to an in-form North Queensland Cowboys team at SFS.
2006 Slater had a less successful 2006 season. Slater was suspended in Round 4 for seven matches for kicking Wests Tigers prop John Skandalis, but also scored two tries in the match. Injuries and suspensions kept Slater out of contention for a spot in the Queensland team in 2006. In his comeback game in Round 13 against the Sydney Roosters in the Storms 20–16 win at Olympic Park, Slater only played 25 minutes of the second half on the wing and was later found guilty of using a dangerous throw on Roosters centre Ryan Cross. Slater was suspended for 2 matches. After Slater's second suspension, Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy decided to give Slater some warm up matches for his comeback into first grade with both North Sydney Bears (Melbourne's feeder club in the NSWRL Premier League) and Norths Devils (Melbourne's feeder club in the Queensland Cup). Slater made his NRL comeback in Round 18 playing his preferred fullback position when the Storm defeated the Brisbane Broncos 10–4 at Olympic Park. In Round 22 against the Wests Tigers in the Storms 46–4 win at Olympic Park, Slater was given a two match suspension for a late forearm, which was his third suspension for the season. Slater came back to the main line-up in Round 25 against the Canberra Raiders in the Storms 22–18 win at Canberra Stadium. A few weeks later, after having claimed the minor premiership the Storm again met the Brisbane Broncos, this time in the 2006 NRL Grand Final. It was Slater's first and he played at fullback in what was Melbourne's first grand final loss after succumbing 15–8 to a Broncos team in Melbourne player Scott Hill farewell NRL match before moving to the ESL. Slater played in 15 matches and scored 5 tries for the Storm in the 2006 NRL season.
2007 Slater had a quiet start to the 2007 season. In Round 8, he suffered a badly broken cheekbone against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles when he tried to charge down former teammate Matt Orford's kick, and collided with teammate Sam Tagataese in Melbourne's 13–12 loss at Brookvale Oval. On his return from injury in Round 17, Slater scored 8 tries from 9 appearances and became a vital cog in the back line of the Storm, setting up over 20 tries during the season. In Round 21 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks at Remondis Stadium, Slater played his 100th NRL career match in the Storms 17–16 win. Slater was part of the Melbourne Storm 2007 NRL Grand Final winning team at , defeating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 34–8, which was later stripped from them for cheating the salary cap. Slater played in 23 matches and scored 12 tries for the Storm in the 2007 NRL season. Slater won the Storms Back of the Year Award. In the post season Slater was named at in the Melbourne Storm Team of the Decade.
2008 Slater's start to the 2008 season can be described as nothing short of sensational. He scored 3 tries in Melbourne's 32–18 Round 1 win at Etihad Stadium, one at SFS in Round 3, a 10–6 loss to the Sydney Roosters and two at Olympic Park in Melbourne's 26–4 win over the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. After his start to the season, Slater garnered praise from league experts such as Laurie Daley and Andrew Johns as being the best player in the game. Slater's form was rewarded when he was selected at fullback for the Australian national team in the Centenary Test against New Zealand, displacing the incumbent Brett Stewart. Slater had a modest game in attack for Australia but proved his worth by making numerous try-saving tackles in Australia's 28–12 victory at SCG. Two weeks later, Slater was selected to once again represent Queensland in the 2008 State of Origin series, this time displacing incumbent, Karmichael Hunt from fullback to five-eighth, Slater had a mixed performance for Queensland throwing a few loose passes despite running over 220 metres and making a line break that nearly resulted in a try to Greg Inglis. Queensland eventually lost, 18–10. Slater returned for Game 2 but was dropped to the interchange bench before replacing Karmichael Hunt 30 minutes into the match at ANZ Stadium. In Game 2 Slater played off the interchange bench in QLD's 30–0 win in Brisbane. In Game 3, Slater once again started from the interchange bench with Karmichael Hunt starting at fullback. A broken arm to Scott Prince at the 17-minute mark forced Slater to fullback with Karmichael Hunt switching to five eighth. Slater broke the line with his first touch and kick return of the game. He was excellent under the high ball, thwarting many attacking kicks. With just 10 minutes to go, Johnathan Thurston broke the New South Wales line, drawing in the fullback before passing the ball to Slater who ran the remaining 30 metres to score the match-winning try and a 16–10 victory. It was Slater's first series win for Queensland. In Round 19, Slater was involved in an all-in brawl in a match against the St George Illawarra Dragons in the Storms 26–0 win at Olympic Park. He was sin-binned for throwing several punches at winger, Jason Nightingale. He had a two-match suspension downgraded to one match after claiming Nightingale had provoked him with several head-butts throughout the match.